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"Mark all read"
#1037 08/13/09 08:06 AM
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I clicked on it in one forum thinking it would apply to that forum *only*, but it cleared the whole slate; is that expected behavior?

If so, is clarification of the wording possible?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Mark all read"
artie505 #1047 08/13/09 12:15 PM
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The Mark all read button appears on every page. All means all. If it only appeared on certain pages, I would assume it only applied to those.

Re: "Mark all read"
Gregg #1144 08/15/09 10:25 AM
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> The Mark all read button appears on every page. All means all. If it only appeared on certain pages, I would assume it only applied to those.

I don't find that the least bit intuitive; since any page may include any number of threads people *do not* want to read along with those they *do* want to read it is certainly *not* an unreasonable assumption that the "Mark all read" button applies page-by-page.

Under the circumstances, it would be more intuitive for the button to appear on *only* the Forums Index page.

I expect, though, that its placement can't be changed nor can its content be edited.

(Does its universal applicability maybe have something to do with tacit's having turned off the feature that places red "unread" numbers on pages other than the Forums
Index?)

Edit: Do you actually find it intuitive that a button on *a* page with options (as mentioned above) applies to *every* page with the same options?

I mean... I finish looking at a forum and want to mark the threads I passed by as "read," so I click on the button at the bottom of the page.

*What* could be *more* intuitive?

And, by the way, when you click on that button at the bottom of *a* forum, the next page says

By clicking on the link below all posts will be marked as read and you will be returned to the main index of the forum.

And that very much suggests the button's applicability to *only* the forum you were in when you clicked on it.

Last edited by artie505; 08/15/09 12:19 PM. Reason: Edit, re-edit, and re-re-edit

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Mark all read"
artie505 #1150 08/15/09 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
(Does its universal applicability maybe have something to do with tacit's having turned off the feature that places red "unread" numbers on pages other than the Forums
Index?)

Nope.

If you'd like a "Mark this forum read" button in each forum, either in place of or in addition to the existing "Mark all read" button, you might want to post that over at UBBCentral in Feedback & Suggestions. Who knows, might result in a change in a future version of UBB.threads.


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Re: "Mark all read"
cyn #1151 08/15/09 12:24 PM
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You beat my last and next edits to the punch; I was just about to post this:

When you click on that button at the bottom of *a* forum, the next page says

By clicking on the link below all posts will be marked as read and you will be returned to the main index of the forum.

And that very much suggests the button's applicability to *only* the forum you were in when you clicked on it.



So... Is it possible to change that key line (which looks non-UBB generated) so it doesn't suggest what it suggests?

Edit: And if that's not possible I'll follow up on your suggestion. (I hate visiting sites where they make you become a member and login for the privilege of being helpful [like Chipmunk did to me regarding solicited, no less, info], so I won't do it if this changes from a pressing need to a non-pressing one.

Last edited by artie505; 08/15/09 12:32 PM. Reason: Edit

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Mark all read"
artie505 #1159 08/15/09 02:26 PM
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That "key line" is UBB generated. FWIW, it doesn't suggest to me that the action applies only to the forum you were in when you clicked on it. Like Gregg, I take all to mean all; if that button in a forum did something other than what it does on the main Forum List page I'd expect it to be labeled differently.

At any rate, I suspect practically anything in a specific installation of UBB.threads can be changed if one sees the benefit/need, has the time, and is willing to deal with the extra work that customization adds to UBBT upgrades. How difficult this particular change would be I have no idea but I have to say that if/when tacit has time to spare I've got a list of other issues that are higher on my priority list.

PS - As the one who made the decision to not allow anonymous posting at FTM I sure hope folks who can provide Mac help don't mind registering here. wink

Last edited by cyn; 08/15/09 07:33 PM.

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Re: "Mark all read"
artie505 #1160 08/15/09 02:38 PM
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I wondered the same as artie, and would love to see a "Mark All Read" button for a category, not only the whole board. I understand (now) that the button is in the forum footer, and not unique to each page, but it's not intuitive in my opinion. but I tend to be one who reads every post anyway, so I guess it's moot!
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Re: "Mark all read"
artie505 #1165 08/15/09 03:22 PM
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To answer your question, no, that's not quite what I meant. Because the button is on every page, including the "Forum Index Page" that led me to believe that it is to clear everything. Heck, it's even on the page where you're composing a post! If the button was only on each forum page and not on the "Forum Index Page", that would lead me to conclude it applied only to the page I'm viewing, if it was named differently.

Your point about threads I do not want to read is lost on me. If I don't want to read it, I'm happy that "Mark all read" would remove it from the threads with new posts list (graphically speaking).

Plus, all still means all. All does not exclude any. If the button said "Mark this page read" it wouldn't include anything else. I do find that to make perfect sense as a description of what it does.

Thus, I do not concur with the conclusion of your last point. It says what it means and it means what it says. The correct word is used to describe what it does.

But, I certainly agree with you that it would be a nice feature to have it apply to only the forum you are viewing. Say there are tons of new posts since my last visit, because I was unable to log on for several days. If I only had time to peruse two forums, it would be nice to mark just those two as read. Once I had completed my review of all the forums I wanted to check, then I could use the All button.

Re: "Mark all read"
cyn #1186 08/16/09 04:51 AM
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> PS - As the one who made the decision to not allow anonymous posting at FTM I sure hope folks who can provide Mac help don't mind registering here.

(This may be better placed in the Lounge.) To me, that's an apples and oranges thing.

I think requiring people to register to participate in a back-and-forth is good policy; I don't go along with requiring them to register to drop a suggestion in the suggestion box, particularly when providing an e-mail address is part of the procedure.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Mark all read"
Gregg #1187 08/16/09 05:03 AM
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> Your point about threads I do not want to read is lost on me. If I don't want to read it, I'm happy that "Mark all read" would remove it from the threads with new posts list (graphically speaking).

I like to clear each forum as I leave it, and at the moment that requires my clicking on even the threads I don't want to read.

> By clicking on the link below all posts will be marked as read and you will be returned to the main index of the forum.

Why would I want to return to the main index other than to visit another forum at which I haven't looked yet?

At the very least, it's a horribly worded option.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Mark all read"
artie505 #1219 08/16/09 08:28 PM
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Good point. (last one) I agree.

As far as those "uninteresting" threads, it seems to be a moot point to me to clear them. If it's a relatively new thread, chances are there will be new posts to it the next time I return. Thus, it would have been time wasted to open it just to clear it for next time, when it won't be cleared. I could be "clearing" it for days if others find it interesting.

Theoretically, the only time clearing an "uninteresting" thread is not a waste of my time would be after the final post has been made to it. However, since I am not clairvoyant, I don't know when that would be.

I do not make a habit of opening threads and not reading them. Nor do I use the "Mark all read" button we've been discussing. I also do not notice unopened threads that I've ignored piling up on the forum lists. Somehow, they manage to clear themselves. confused

Re: "Mark all read"
artie505 #1226 08/16/09 09:55 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
>
I like to clear each forum as I leave it, and at the moment that requires my clicking on even the threads I don't want to read.


That's not required. This forum uses cookies that auto-mark-read posts between sessions so when you return you should only see new posts since your last session. There's no need to always being clicking Mark All Read unless you're trying to clear a problem with the cookies themselves.


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Re: "Mark all read"
Kevin M. Dean #1233 08/17/09 12:41 AM
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Ok, but what do the cookies do about threads that you did not read? (that is, did not open - although there were new posts) Perhaps the answer to that is also the answer to my last 'question' above.

Re: "Mark all read"
Gregg #1236 08/17/09 01:28 AM
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Everything should be marked as read automatically that was posted before and possibly during your current session even if you didn't open the thread. That's how all cookie based forums work when they're working properly. There has been problems with UBB in the past where this was not the case, but that was usually due to a glitch more than normal functionality and was likely due to cnet's shared cookie login across different sites messing things up. Good thing is we don't have to worry about that here.


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Re: "Mark all read"
Kevin M. Dean #1243 08/17/09 05:15 AM
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> That's not required. This forum uses cookies that auto-mark-read posts between sessions so when you return you should only see new posts since your last session. There's no need to always being clicking Mark All Read unless you're trying to clear a problem with the cookies themselves.

What I'm trying to clear is a problem with my own cookies, a neurosis problem, and neither facts nor logic can do that. grin

Clicking on "Mark all read" gets rid of the annoying red numbers marking the forums at which I never look and the equally annoying yellow folder/unread markers in the ones at which I have finished looking. The button is *not* there gratuitously.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Mark all read"
Gregg #1244 08/17/09 05:18 AM
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> I also do not notice unopened threads that I've ignored piling up on the forum lists. Somehow, they manage to clear themselves.

Maybe I've been doing something that would do itself if I gave it a chance; I'll lay-off for a while and see what happens.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Mark all read"
Kevin M. Dean #1255 08/17/09 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted By: Kevin M. Dean
Everything should be marked as read automatically that was posted before and possibly during your current session even if you didn't open the thread. That's how all cookie based forums work when they're working properly.


That squares with my experience.

Artie, do let us know how goes the experiment.

Re: "Mark all read"
Gregg #1348 08/18/09 09:11 AM
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Even without my logging out of FTM and back in the red numbers and yellow folders update/clear, Gregg...excellent.

I'm pretty sure that such was *not* the case with UBB.Threads before the MFIF upgrade, and I obviously haven't looked since.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire

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